Saturday, January 30, 2010

How would you like to drop a few pounds without dieting or hitting the gym? You can-with slim-down foods that boost your calorie-burning power just like exercise!

1. Drop 7 pounds eating eggs!They're packed with amino acids, and research shows that upping your intake of these protein building blocks can help you burn 71 more calories daily, enough to shed seven pounds a year. Aim for: seven to 10 eggs weekly.

2. Lose half a pound a month with green tea!Burn an easy 60 calories a day due to antioxidants in green tea that also rev the brains production of metabolism speeding hormones. Aim for: Three cups daily.

4. Cut your appetite 35% with coffee!A mere cup a day can raise your resting metabolic rate 15% for four hours; sip it 30 minutes before meals and it will blunt your appetite by 35%, as well! This single trick can help you lose 12 pounds a year-without counting a single calorie!Tip: Power up your workouts! Drinking coffee an hour before exercising can help you melt 31% more fat!

5. Down 16% fewer calories with hot peppers!Sure, they fire up your metabolism, but they also promote a sense of fullness that helps curb overeating. The proof: In a recent study, two groups were given pre-dinner drinks of tomato juice, one spicy, the other plain. Those who had the spicy drink ate 16% fewer calories than those who had the plain!

Quick Slimming!Fit in one cup of raw veggies-and 8oz. of vegetable juice daily-and researchers say you will shed up to 9 lbs. in just four weeks! This simple step doubles your intake of enzymes that help boost metabolism.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Fill up on the food that spikes fat burn!It's protein. According to one study, you can burn 71 more calories every day-which translates into seven pounds of effortless weight loss a year-just by including at least 2oz of chicken, beef, fish or other protein in every meal. In another study, women who ate high protein meals doubled their metabolic rate for at least two hours afterward.

Try the trick that burns 30 minutes of calories in just 20 minutes!Walking to work or the grocery store? Simply picking up the pace significantly for 30 seconds every few minutes can help your body burn 36% more fat from the exercise. Bursts of speed allow you to do much more intense, metabolism-boosting exercise, because you aren't held back by the very real problem of endurance.

Unwind with a sitcom!Laughing out loud increases calorie burn by up to 20%, reports a Vanderbilt University study.In fact, if you laugh 10 to 15 minutes a day, you can lose about four pounds a year without making any other changes to your diet or routine.

Sip green tea before your meals to double weight loss!Dieters who drink green tea 30 minutes before every meal lose twice as much weight as those who go tea-free. Green tea's polyphenols boost brain levels of norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter that keeps resting metabolic rates high, so you can burn more calories even when your sitting on the couch.

Build your muscles to torch belly fat!All you have to do is fit in one hour of light weightlifting a week-that's 10 minutes a day with a day off and research suggests you will significantly raise your production of belly-flattening human growth hormone (HGH)

Take fish oil to burn flab more easily!Women who take 3,000 mg. of fish oil daily shed up to twice as much body fat as those who don't. Turns out, the omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil stimulate the secretion of leptin, a hormone that makes it easier for your body to convert stored fat into energy, a key to keeping your metabolism running at peak efficiency.

Have breakfast to rev up your metabolism by 30%!Simply putting food in your mouth first thing in the morning increases your metabolism by 30% for several hours. The reason: Breaking your overnight "fast" convinces your body that food is plentiful, so it doesn't feel the need to store calories as fat, instead it burns them.

Sleep more to reduce fattening stress hormones!Struggling along on too-little sleep results in a 40% increase in blood levels of cortisol, a powerful stress hormone proven to slow metabolism, plus trigger a 33% increase in hunger panes and cravings. Aim for at least seven hours of shuteye each night.

For a refreshing summer soup, puree chilled watermelon, cantaloupe, and kiwifruit together. Swirl in a little plain yogurt and serve.

A traditional Russian sweetener, watermelon syrup is made by boiling juice pressed from watermelon pulp down to one-seventh of its original volume. The resulting sweetener can be used in cocktails, smoothies and desserts.

Food Facts

Watermelon has no fat or cholesterol and contains fiber as well as potassium. It's an excellent source of vitamins A, B6, and C, and it's rich in lycopene.

Because of watermelons high water content and low calorie count-only 48 calories per cup-it delivers more nutrients per calorie.

Watermelons are available from May to September, with peak season mid-June to late August. When selecting, choose melons that are symmetrical without any flat sides. Look for a smooth surface, a cream colored underbelly, and a rind that appears dull rather than shiny.

Store whole, uncut watermelon in the fridge or a cool, dark place for no more than one week. Cut watermelon should be wrapped and refrigerated and used within a day or two. :)

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Lace up your sneakers, grab a bottle of water, and get ready to burn calories like crazy!Walking has always been a cheap and easy way to slim down-and now researchers at afamous Oregon Research Center have figured out a way to make it more effective than everbefore. In fact their simple "sticky note" trick is helping dieters walk off double the weight.

First, you put on some supportive shoes and walk briskly for at least 30 minutes daily. Do iton a sidewalk, treadmill or trail: go for one long walk or a bunch of smaller walks. The mostimportant thing is to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Now, to make it go even farther, keep a written record of how long you walk-along with awritten record of exactly what you eat each day. It can be as easy as scribbling on a stickynote or on the back of an envelope. Researchers in Portland, Oregon found that among 1,700overweight test subjects asked to cut calories and walk at least half an hour daily, those whokept a exercise/food log lost 100% more flab than those who did not.

Walking is perhaps the easiest way to burn calories and maintain metabolism-boostingmuscle. How does a log help improve results? Well, we all want to look good on paper, its justhuman nature. So, when we are keeping a written record of, say, how much we walk or whatwe eat, we adjust our actions accordingly to make ourselves look better.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Wouldn't it be great if you could reverse the aging process and add 10, 20-even 30-healthy years to your life? Well, according to studies, now you can!

All it takes is a few simple diet and lifestyle tweaks!

Add 20 Years By...Exercising with a friend!

"Exercise stimulates the release of antiaging compounds that rejuvenate the heart, lungs, liver and immune system", says Diana Schwarzbein. MD, author of The Schwarzbein Principle II: A Regeneration Program to Prevent and Reverse Accelerated Aging. "And strong social ties help reduce the production of stress hormones."

Add 16 Years By...Keeping your blood pressure low!

A blood pressure of 140/90-or higher-ages your arteries and heart faster than a reading of 115/75.Quick Fix: Sticking to 1 tsp. of salt daily will trim three points off your blood pressure. And eat potassium-rich foods, such as a banana, a half cup of spinach or a skinless chicken breast, to trim another 5 points within 30 days.

Add 6 Years By...Taking a daily multi!

Research shows B vitamins help prevent premature aging of the brain and nervous system. And selenium, calcium, magnesium and vitamins D and E slow the aging of muscles and the immune system.

Friday, January 22, 2010

What is the best cardiovascular exercise? Which exercise burns the most calories? Whichcardio fitness program will work best for my needs? These are very common questions.

The best cardio activities for you are the ones you will ENJOY doing!

Cardiovascular exercises are continuous, rhythmic movements that assist your body inburning high amounts of calories and increase strength in the heart and lungs. Cardio will alsohelp you to burn calories although it is more beneficial for keeping your energy levels high.You will find that cardio is the best way to boost your energy and help keep you in shape.And remember that both cardio and strength training exercises should be included in yourfitness program.

If you're spending a lot of time on one specific type of cardio exercise, you may want to addin some variety. Doing the same exercise can lead to overuse injuries because you're alwaysusing the same joints and muscle groups. But how often do you need to incorporate a cardioworkout into your daily routine? Attempt to perform cardiovascular exercise for 20 to 60minutes for 3 to 5 days a week. If you are unable to complete 20 minutes of activity, worktoward this duration gradually.

If you ever experience chest pain, lightheadedness or dizziness, while exercising, stopimmediately. If you are unsure whether certain cardio exercises are the right ones for you,consult your physician.

The hard part is finding the fitness program that works best for you and that you will enjoyand keep doing.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

You may be eating more than you think. For the most part, people gain weight because theyare taking in more calories than they are "spending" in physical fitness activity. If you reallywant to see what you are eating, keep a food diary. Recent studies show that people whowrote down everything they ate and drank six days a week lost about twice as much as thosewho only kept a diary two to three days a week.

2. The Scale

Do you weigh yourself often? It's easy to put on those pounds without even knowing it.Preventing weight gain is as important as weight loss. Weigh yourself at least one time a weekat the same time of the day. The best time to weigh yourself is when you wake up in themorning after you go to the bathroom with no clothes on, using the same scale. However,don't become obsessive and weigh yourself repeatedly through out the day.

3. Stress

When you are stressed, your body releases stress hormones to try to help you cope. Butthese hormones can increase your weight, as well as your blood glucose, blood pressure,cholesterol, weight size and more. Identify your source of stress, and look into ways tohandle stress, such as taking a walk, reading a book or just taking more time for yourself. Ofcourse, physical fitness activities are number 1!!

4. Physical Fitness

With all the new gadgets, you don't need to be as active to get things done. You can sit at thecomputer, on the telephone, or in front of the television for hours. Be sure to take a break,add in a little physical fitness, whether at home or at the office. Walk, stretch, if you have thedesire, join a gym if that works for you.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Forget diet products and calorie counting! Research proves that regular doses of tap water isall it takes to trick your body into eating less. If you make an effort to drink more water, youwill be a lot less thirsty-and a lot less likely to reach for high-calorie juices, mocha lattes andother sugary beverages. The average person drinks roughly 300 calories a day; REPLACE those calories with water, and you can't help but lose weight.

Yale researchers have found that soda pop and juice set off a blood rollercoaster thatstimulates our urge to eat by 15%. There is also evidence that the sweetness of soft drinks-even the sugar free products-triggers cravings for more sweets. Try switching to water.

Even if you make no other changes in your daily regimen, drink plenty of water. It's a healthychoice for just about everyone.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Motivation may be hard to come by when it comes to staying or getting into good shape, As theseasons change so does our motivation level. Holiday schedules and cold winter dayskeep us from drudging up the motivation to maintain a daily exercise routine.But we should be totally aware of the effects that inactivity has on the body, there are many resources available.

Exercise alone, without change in diet, can greatly reduce the risks for many diseases even in small amounts. Heart disease, stroke or diabetes are just a couple health affects of lack of activity in the body. Doing what ever you can to increase your motivation to exercise is the first step. Any variety of methods to motivate you will be of great importance. Listening to music while running, simply finding out the exercises that you truly enjoy, setting particular times when to exercise, all help you to stay motivated. Developing a routine or pattern for exercising is the best way to stay motivated; your body will become accustomed to working out at a certain time each and every day.

Your mind posses the ability to create positive ideas that leads to positive actions allowing you to live a healthy life. Positive self talk can do wonders for motivation as well as justviewing the results of previous attempts (i.e.smaller jeans :), thinner waistline, six pack, etc). Self encouragement is the ultimate motivation.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Exercise may not be the most excitingword in your vocabulary but it sure is a word with alot of benefits. Participating in daily exercisewill not only make you healthier in general, butit can also diminish the effects of stress on yourbody.

Think about all the times you have heard someonesay "the doctor says its stress". Normallypeople will laugh it off, concluding that doctorssay that when they don't know the realdiagnosis. The truth of the matter is that toomuch stress can play a role in many diseases and illnesses.

To help increase your immune system and decreaseyour stress level, try exercise, as movementis the key word here. Bending, stretching, reachingand walking. You can implementmore movement into your daily routine and reapthe benefits on your own so there is no need to buy any expensive equipment.

If you like aerobic exercise, you should grab afriend and have a blast with one of the basicaerobic videos. Or, you can simply go out for a briskwalk and enjoy spending time together. As youmay have heard, walking really is the best overallexercise you can do for your health and heart. As long asyou have a pair of walking shoes, you will beset.

As you go through your daily activities, make ita point to walk a little farther, park the car further awaywhen going to the grocery store.When you are sitting, you should also do somesimple and quick stretches for your neck shoulders andback.

If you enjoy sitting around watching television,you should consider buying a jogging board.These padded boards will make running, jumping,or walking in place less stressful on your kneesand joints. They are easy to store as well andalso very portable.

In many peoples opinions, jogging boards arethe best pieces of equipment you can buy. Theyare also far cheaper than treadmills andstationary bikes.

There are several different exercises that youcan do to help you eliminate the stress inyour life. Walking is by far the best! As youcan easily lose yourself and your troubles bywalking, even if it is just around your neighborhood,walking can do wonders for your health as wellas stress.

If you have a lot of stress in your life, youmay want to consider a gym. Working out thensitting in the sauna is also a good way torelieve tension. Sign up for classes, yoga, fitness training or swimming. If your gym has a pool, you may find swimming to be very beneficial as well,as it helps you to relax!

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Being a healthy eater requires you to become botheducated and smart about what healthy eatingreally is. Being food smart is not aboutlearning to calculate carbs, grams or fat. It isabout studying labels and counting calories.

Healthy eating is all about balanced and moderateeating, consisting of healthy meals at leastthree times per day(sometimes five). Healthy eaters eat a variety of types of foods not limiting themselvesto a specific food type or food group.

Healthy eating requires quite a bit of leeway. Youmight eat too much or not enough, consumefoods that are sometimes more or less nutritious.However, you should always fuel your body andyour brain regularly with enough food to keepboth your mind and body strong and alert.

You should always remember that restricting foodin any way is always a bad thing. Healthy eatingis a way of life, something that you can do toenhance your body or your lifestyle. If you havethought about making your life (and health) better, healthyeating is just the place to start!